


Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

by TQ121



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dubious Consent, M/M, Unhealthy Relationships, may turn into rhackagawa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:14:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23404345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TQ121/pseuds/TQ121
Summary: When Handsome Jack is brought back to life Rhys finds himself caught between Hyperion and Malliwan.Unwilling to accept certain doom he bites his pride and surrenders to Malliwan, but Handsome Jack is still after his blood.Luckily Katagawa finds Rhys much more fun alive... That's lucky right???
Relationships: Katagawa Jr./Rhys (Borderlands)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 59





	Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Zer0 curled up on top of a crate in a ship's cargo bay. He made his long body impossibly small, and rested his helmeted head between his arms and knees. With the tattered brown cloak he wore he just looked like another bundle in the cargo ship headed to Promethea.

A guard's footsteps could be heard below. No doubt looking for stowaways or thrives. It wasn't an impossible bet that there could be an inside man for some space pirates aboard.

But there wasn't anyone to find. Zer0 made sure of that.

The guard disappeared, and Zer0 rested showing no sign of movement.

Even when the ship went into hyperspace Zer0 remained motionless. The feeling of being tugged through time and space by the bellybutton wasn't any different then when the Zer0 suit allowed him to bounce around the battlefield with incredible speed.

He didn't move for hours.

It was an assassin's unspoken skill.

Waiting for the ship to come close enough to Promethea for Zer0 to use the fast travel, he noticed his echo com blinking.

Typing with enhanced speed Zer0 set his echo to play his helmet and pressed play.

"Zer0!" Rhys chimed with false bravado. "Friend."

In the recording Rhys didn't know what to do with his hands. "While you were gone collecting info on the whole Handsome Jack, thing."

Rhys clawed around his neroport, and after a moment pulled his hand away in disgust. 

A **?** flashed across Zer0's helmet.

"Well you see we've captured 2 Hyperion men on their way to get me, and a further two got past our defenses and into my office. I mean only one got the chance to attack, but have you ever been electrocuted Zer0?"

Rhys paused as if waiting for an answer, and laughed nervously after while fiddling with his mustache.

"What am I saying, of course you have. You probably took it better than me." Rhys grumbled.

"I guess what I'm saying is it really sucks, and they don't want to kill me. I got more proof of that when Katagawa gifted me another Hyperion spy that tried to make it past Malliwan's blockade."

Rhys moved and twitched like a nervous antelope looking around with paranoia. "I had Alice talk to the Hyperion spy. Alice, uh, Alice has this way with people you know. Something about the way she holds a pair of pliers really gets people to open up."

Rhys finally just let his arms fall to his sides. "Handsome Jack wants me brought to him alive, Zer0."

The recording crackled and Rhys briefly disappeared. When he came back he was recording at a slightly different angle. "Sorry about that. I had to rerecord some of this."

Rhys' voice was now hoarse and he sniffed. "Basically I can't defend myself and Atlas against both Hyperion and Malliwan. The siege was spreading us too thin anyway."

"I guess what I'm saying is thank you Zer0 for all your help. I cancelled your contract so that you can do what you like after you get this message."

Red glowed off of Zer0's helmet as he projected a **=\** face on it.

Rhys' hologram looked behind himself frowning at something off screen. "I have to go, friend. I have a, oh god I can't believe I'm saying this. I think it's a date with Katagawa?"

Rhys then made two OK signs with his hands close to his chest and then pushed his hands forward in his trademark sign off. "Rhys out."

* * *

_**Fourteen Months Later** _

At first the master bathroom almost looked modest. At least as modest as it could with an orange, teal, and white color scheme.

The counters and sink were clutter free, and the toilet had more buttons than any toilet had the right to. The bathtub wasn't ridiculously large, but Katagawa had a few jacuzzis, hot tubs, and a whole spa on the Zenara. It simply didn't need to be anything but a bathtub.

What was impressive was the hidden door to a closet full of towels and a cleaner bot, and the mirror that took a light touch of a finger and it slid into the wall to show all the hidden toiletries.

Rhys pulled out of the high-tech medicine cabinet a small make-up kit. Rhys then tapped the mirror so it would slide closed again. His naked torso reflected back at him.

Hickies and bite marks littered his torso and neck. The ones on Rhys' left shoulder were the worst. Katagawa had a tendency to bite hard enough to break the skin.

It would annoy Rhys more if Katagawa wasn't so good in bed, or if they were less sexually compatible. It wasn't like Rhys felt safe enough to deny Katagawa, after all there was a price to pay for protection. But he couldn't say that the predatory way Katagawa would maul him in bed, or how he seemed to know exactly what was the perfect level of pain was a problem.

The problem was that Rhys liked it.

Methodically Rhys took a makeup brush and started to apply correcting colors to the hickes on his neck. He took his time making sure to be thorough not wanting to miss a single one.

Katagawa was forcing Rhys to be his plus one at a fancy multi weapons manufacture meeting. It was supposed to foster peace and trust between them and lead to bigger profits for them all. What it actually led to was a dick measuring contest where the ever flowing pecking order was decided, and an attempt to find each other's weaknesses.

They were weapon companies. Peace wasn’t good for business.

Rhys expected to be paraded around like a trophy. Malliwan’s latest conquest was reduced to arm candy. It made his chest ache with bruised pride, and he wasn’t going to suffer the indignity of having hickeys showing at the same time.

He slowly applied concealer zoning in on what he was doing until there was nothing other than himself, and then set the makeup with powder. It was relaxing to just be alone and work on his appearance. He always enjoyed adding little touches to improve his look, and doing his hair was just as much about pampering himself as it was about his vanity.

When he was done he sat the brush down on the counter. Rhys then twisted his head back and forth looking in the mirror for anything he could have missed, and corrected his blending in places with his fingers.

Satisfied he took a moment to mourn his lack of mustache.

“I miss you siege stache. You were a light in trying times.”

“Are you talking to your mustache again?” Katagawa’s amused voice broke Rhys from his trance like calm.

Rhys looked up into the mirror, and saw the reflection of Katagawa leaning on the door frame with a smirk. Rolling his eyes Rhys grabbed the setting powder on the counter and began to dab it all over his neck.

Katagawa didn’t deserve a response.

“Aww, buddy,” Katagawa walked up to Rhys, and placed his hands on Rhys’ hips, “don’t be so sour. I would hate for you to develop any more premature wrinkles.”

"I'm not getting wrinkles." Rhys growled and glared into the mirror. 

"I just have some crows feet," Rhys explained with a softer voice, "and they make me look distinguished, not old."

Katagawa's grin was more predatory than friendly as he cupped the side of Rhys' face and pulled his thumb over the corner of Rhys' eye. The action flattened out the small lines, and their gazes met in the mirror.

"Maybe I should put you on a skincare routine to go with your exercises and diet." Katagawa mused. "Of course I can get you a face lift if necessary, but let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Rhys refused to pull away even if the idea made him sick. Katagawa let Rhys maintain control over the Atlas branch. Sure Atlas had no army and was dependent on Malliwan to provide defenses, but Rhys maintained control over everything from their research goals to how his employees were treated.

All he had to do was make sure profits reached Malliwan standards.

Where he lost control was his own body. Katagawa enjoyed micromanaging what Rhys ate, how Rhys exercised, how long he spent at work, and how long he rested. It made Rhys shudder in horror every time he thought about it.

After a year and some "corrective" training Rhys knew better than to disobey these rules.

He just didn't want more of them. 

"You picked me, and I'm old enough that a couple of fine lines is normal. You should have thought about that."

“If you think I picked you for your looks, buddy, you are sorely mistaken.” Katagawa told him, and let go of his face.

He then fisted Rhys hair and pulled his head back exposing his throat. Rhys went with the movement and froze waiting for whatever Katagawa had next in store. He even kept his fingers, both his human and cybernetic touching the counter.

“Good boy.” Katagawa ran his other hand down Rhys neck, and then held it. “You’re finally learning.”

A shudder ran rippled down Rhys’ spine, and to his shame he felt his cheeks heat up.

“I knew I wanted you the first time I listened to one of your echo casts.” Katagawa purred. “So confident that you would be able to bring up Atlas from the ashes.”

“Well I did, didn’t I.” That was something Katagawa could never take away from him.

“And that just made me want you more.” Katagawa slowly increased the pressure he put on Rhys’ neck. He loved feeling Rhys so vulnerable beneath his hands. “Men like you are so rare in business. Most with any sort of real ambition get crushed while working for one of the bigger corporations, or they disappointingly settle for good enough.”

“You can argue it didn’t end so swimmingly for me.” Rhys’ voice was wispy from the pressure on his neck.

Katagawa laughed and gave Rhys’ hair a tug. “Yet you came willingly into my arms. Even if it was Hyperion that gave you the final push.”

Rhys’ eyes fluttered closed. It was the last thing he wanted to think about.

“Don’t worry no one else can touch you now that you’re mine.”

* * *

After the corporate wars most planets and significantly sized space stations had been split between the biggest weapons manufacturers. Through the years the weapon companies fought over and traded control of the planets, some rose and some fell. Few planets didn’t have a corporation laying claim to them, even if planets like Pandora refused to be tamed.

The _Inevitability_ , a space station owned by Anshin, was considered one of the only true neutral places to meet. It was a massive space station that was, in technical terms, in the shape of a Möbius band with a round boundary, or as most people described it, a weird looking snail shell. It was also protected by one of if not _the_ most impenetrable shields in the known galaxy.

The shield was one of two reasons the _Inevitability_ was neutral ground. The other was the threat of losing access to the “Health Now!” kits.

No one wanted to lose their supply of Health Now! Kits. They were now critical to every companies’ war efforts, and battles could be won by sabotaging the other side's stash. No one had even been able to replicate the technology making it an even more valuable commodity. Anshin shields were flashy, but their health kits were their bread and butter. 

On a balcony the Anshin matriarch stood tall with her straight black hair flowing down her back, and her dark almond eyes scanned the crowd as they mingled in her ball room. Every single one of the guests was trouble but that was the one constant in these annual get-togethers.

* * *

Katagawa walked into the _Inevitability's_ largest ballroom arm in arm with Rhys. 

They made a striking pair, both of them wearing black tailcoats and trousers with a white shirt, waistcoat, and bowtie. They matched in their white tie attire with the only noticeable difference being their boutonnières. Katagawa's was a Malliwan orange carnation, while Rhys had one that was in Atlas red.

People looked at them. There was no way around it. Everyone wanted to see Katagawa Jr., who not only snuffed out the fire of Atlas's rising phoenix but had wrestled his way to CEO of Malliwan. Rhys standing by his side like a trophy husband only intrigued everyone's interest, and the room started buzzing.

The humiliation hit Rhys harder than he expected. He thought he had been prepared to be paraded around, as Katagawa gloated about his accomplishments. Instead he felt his stomach turn, and his stomach acid rose up his throat until he could taste the bile. 

He kept his head held high even as his throat burned, and swallowed the bile back down even if it just made his neck feel tight around the metal collar Katagawa gifted him before they left.

It was thin, subtle, and completely hidden under Rhys shirt collar. It was barometrically locked and only Katagawa's DNA could open it. More importantly it was a tracking device. Just to remind Rhys how trapped he was, and to remind him running was pointless. If there was anything else to it Katagawa wasn’t telling him.

After they engaged in a few meaningless conversations, that were mostly Katagwa talking and Rhys standing next to him like a well trained pet, the stares stopped and people moved to more pertinent topics.

Only the people they passed gave Rhys a second glance, and it was always full of either self assured smugness or pity.

Katagawa pretended to ignore it all, and focused on finding the perfect balance between schmoozing and threatening for each person he spoke to. He thrived being the center of attention, but he lost it when the large double doors slammed open.

Handsome Jack stood at the entrance, his arms out wide as his voice boomed across the whole ballroom. "Hey kiddos! I hope you've been playing nicely, because daddy is back."

A quiet filled the room, except for Mr Torgue yelling, "F*ck!"

But not even Mr. Torgue's beeped expletive took attention from Handsome Jack.

Jack grinned, all teeth and no kindness, and then swaggered to the far side of the ballroom up to the stage where the MC and musicians were. Handsome Jack had an energized aura about him, and everyone stared in either surprise or fear.

Many felt both.

Rhys' whole body trembled, and he found himself pressing as close to Katagawa as possible. The way Katagawa wrapped his arms around Rhys' waist could have almost been considered a kind reassurance, but both men knew it was about ownership.

Jack took the microphone out of the MC's hand, and the microphone squealed from the feedback. “I can see that from the look on some of your faces that you didn’t expect me to be here. You probably thought when I died that would be the last you saw of me. But I’m the hero baby, not even death can stop me!”

Murmurs slowly filled the quiet of the room, but Jack didn’t give them the chance to turn into proper conversation. “Now I know what you are all thinking. Is Jack going to remember every slight. Is he going to string me up for taking a cookie from the jar when daddy wasn’t looking?”

“To be honest most of you are so beneath me I’ll let it slide this once, but some of you…” Jack’s eyes then wondered around the room meeting the eyes of those who had a storm coming. 

Rhys held his breath and prayed that Jack didn’t notice him, but then Jack found Rhys and held his gaze as his lips curled sinisterly. “Some of you are going to beg for me to kill you.”

“We have heard quite enough.” The Ashin matriarch announced from her balcony. The small lady’s voice boomed with almost as much power as Handsome Jack’s. “I know this is against your nature, Handsome Jack, but this is a peaceful get together. You will behave yourself.”

Handsome Jack looked up at her and for a minute their eyes met, but his stare was broken when he noticed a shadow move behind her. Unwilling to make a move too soon Jack turned to the crowd, and made a claw swiping gesture. “Meooow, this kitten has claws, am I right fellas?”

A few people awkwardly laughed as if trained to laugh at any joke someone stronger made.

Jack gave a performative laugh that ended abruptly. “I said what I needed to anyway.”

Holding out his arm straight out he dropped the microphone and it let out a mechanical squeal, as he walked off the stage.

He had a goal tonight of course so Handsome Jack quickly scanned the room again, and he found his eyes meeting those of the new Malliwan CEO.

Katagawa narrowed his eyes and sneered at Jack like he was dog shit he stepped in. Rhys Strongfork was no longer at his side.

Jack didn’t mind. He preferred to hunt anyway.

* * *

Once again Rhys leaned over a bathroom counter to stare at his reflection, but this time he failed at keeping his cool.

He already knew Hyperion had somehow brought Handsome Jack to life, and he knew that Jack wanted to kill him. Jack had already sent enough men after Rhys that in a moment of desperation Rhys agreed to Katagawa’s terms, but he thought he had found relative safety.

Seeing Jack threw that all out the window.

It was easy to forget how much presence Handsome Jack had. Charisma seeped out of every pore that inspired both awe and fear.

Rhys hated that he still felt both equally even though he knew Jack better than most people ever dreamed of and for Rhys that was more a nightmare.

Staring at his reflection didn't help him calm down at all.

The bathroom door opened, and Rhys’ terrified face looked up from the sink to stare at the intruder.

“There you are pumpkin.” Handsome Jack sauntered in before turning around to lock the bathroom door. “The way you disappeared out there I’d almost think you didn’t want to see your old pal, Jack.”

Rhys backed up as Jack continued to walk forward narrowing the space between them. He eyed the bathroom stall, but he could only come up with scenarios in which trying to hide in it would make things worse. So he ended up backing up into the wood paneled wall staring wide eyed at Jack.

Jack burst out laughing. “Oh man, I forgot what a coward you were. I mean it should be obvious how you ran to Malliwan looking for help. How is that anyway? I’ve heard you’ve become Katagawa’s bitch. Hell you two even came here dressed like a couple. Did you pick it out or is his taste as bad as yours?”

Sneering Jack leaned in until they were nose to nose. “Wait, that's easy to figure out. You would have found a way to tuck your bowties in your pants. So I guess that makes you his dress up doll too.”

Invading Rhys’ space created a reaction that was the opposite of what Handsome Jack was going for.

Shaking under Jack’s threatening presence Rhys had already reached peak terror leaving anger to boil up, bubbling up until rage broke through the fear. Having Handsome Jack so close reminded Rhys of all their intimate moments where they both shared more than they meant to, and Jack wasn’t just one of the richest most powerful men in the universe. 

Underneath it all there was something vulnerable about him. A broken man who had lost everyone important to him, and that had once made Rhys sympathize with him. He once thought it could be him that healed his hero, and that maybe they could become something more. It was only after this he learned that it wasn’t fate that drove everyone away from Jack. It was Jack himself.

Handsome Jack under all the complexities of his character was and always would be a pathetic bully. Hurting those closest to him, and insulting potential allies until they left.

Rhys clenched his shaking hands into fists and punched Jack with his cybernetic arm.

Jack stumbled back and grabbed his jaw as if to make sure it was still there.

“Fuck you!” Rhys growled. He shook even harder from the anger than he did from fear. “I was so close to destroying the Malliwan blockade, and then your men started coming after me.”

“You couldn’t even send assassins like a normal person but kidnappers?”

Standing up again Jack interjected. “Actually they were assassins. I just hired them to kidnap you.”

“Shut up! Can't you just shut up and let me talk for a change.” Rhys sneered and standing at his full height it was obvious he had inches on Jack. “I’m not stupid Jack. I know that if you got a hold of me it would be all over.”

“You’re a monster, and I wasn’t going to let you get your claws in me again.”

“You ungrateful little shit!” Jack slammed Rhys into the wall. “You think I’m a monster, huh? I gave you everything, and you spat it back into my face.”

"You were going to murder me and use my corpse as a puppet, Jack! You weren’t the one who was betrayed!"

"I gave you the once in a lifetime dream of being me, Rhysie. We had something special and could have been together, and nothing could have separated us if you had just listened to _me_."

"You are nuts if you still think you were doing me a favor. I-" Rhys gagged as Jack's hands closed around his neck and squeezed.

This was it Jack was going to kill Rhys right now, but it was probably better than anything Jack had planned for him anyway.

Before dread and panic could fully take a hold of Rhys, electricity pulsed from the tracking collar Katagawa had given Rhys earlier that night.

Goosebumps covered Rhys' flesh and his hair stood on end, but his cybernetics only flickered briefly and stayed online. It was like a high quality nova shield and the electric burst projected outward perfectly.

Jack on the other hand was flung across the room and fell like a ragdoll to the beautiful marble floor. The shield Jack wore was visible for a moment as it flashed and sputtered out. Jack blinked away the dazed look on his face and growled. “What the hell was that?”

With perfect timing the lock clicked open and a gloved hand opened the door wide.

A servant held the door as Katagawa Jr. stepped in. “That was a warning not to touch what belongs to me.”

“Oh really,” Jack climbed up and as his hand got too close to the counter and the static all over his body discharged with a little pop. He ignored the sharp pain.

“You see if I remember correctly Rhysie here worked for Hyperion several years back. Which according to the bylaws makes Rhys and all of his work Hyperion property, and that includes Atlas and all patents under it. That means he belongs to me.”

“I belong to myself.” Rhys sneered, rubbing his bruising neck and tried to circle towards Katagawa.

Katagawa didn’t wait for Rhys to get to him, but grabbed him by the wrist and jerked him over to his side. He squeezed Rhys' hip to pull him closer and said. “Buddy, the adults are talking. So either keep that mouth shut and let me handle this, or wait outside like a good boy.”

Rhys bristled and his cheeks burned. Of course Katagawa would become even more demeaning when he felt threatened, and for a brief moment he wanted to throw himself at Jack’s none existent mercy. Torture was surely better than humiliation.

But the confident smirk on Jack’s face told Rhys that Handsome Jack wasn’t above humiliating him. He would probably relish it.

Katagawa feigned disinterest. “Are you suggesting Malliwan stole from Hyperion? Surely the statute of limitations has run out by now, and even if it hasn’t the lack of Hyperion involvement during the merger should be clear enough evidence in court that Malliwan has done Hyperion no wrong.”

“There is no court, dumb dumb." Jack closed in and showed no discomfort in the fact that he had no choice but to look up at Katagawa. As Rhys was a few inches taller than Jack, Katagawa was a few inches taller than Rhys. But Jack was like a rabid terrier, crazy and vicious enough to run down a badger hole and come back victorious.

"That was the whole point of the Corporate Wars. Unbridled Capitalism with no pesky government to hold us back." Sneering Jack added. "Or were you too busy snorting blow to pay attention to your undoubtedly overpriced education.”

Rolling his eyes Katagawa tisked. “Looks like you’ve been out of the loop old man, but the men and women out there _are_ the court. We’ve been doing things differently since you decided to abandon the world of the living."

"Your death ruined the market for a while. Everything had been fine, but when you died people tried to rise up. They tried to unionize! Then there were the socialist trying to create governments." Katagawa snarled. "It was three years of wasted money killing idiots who thought if Hyperion could be taken down so could everyone else."

Katagawa held Rhys so tightly he could feel bruises forming, and Katagawa still sneered down at Handsome Jack. "You can't just push your weight around to get what you want anymore. This is a gentleman's game now. You have to smile and convince your rivals to throw themselves on your knife, and no one is better than that then me."

Jack fumed as Katagawa lectured him like a disobedient child, but the truth to his statement is what stung the most. 

Gathering himself Jack pushed his hair back in place and forcing out the static he pushed his way past Katagawa, but stopped to get the last word.

"You are going to regret this, string bean. I'm going to destroy Malliwan, and then paint the rubble with your blood."


End file.
